The term "knuckle down" is the starting position of the game, where a player squirts the marble off his index finger with the knuckle pointing down. Modern usage = get serious, but comes from the point of the marbles game when you were actually playing.
The term "play for keeps" comes from marbles. You declare the rules before starting a game, so if you declared "for keeps" or "keepsies", the winner won all the marbles. And hence why a winning shot is "for all the marbles".
Twitter was weird today. Woke up early US east coast time and DIDN'T see a pro-Trump twitter trend with tends of thousands of mentions. Either the Russian bots took a day off or Twitter somehow miraculously cleaned up their act.
I was thinking of renting a beach house in Stinson Beach for a few days. Usually they charge around $900 per night. I checked yesterday and because of Covid the only rentals are for a month - so the price is around $27k per month. Well, I can't be that isolated for a month...
You mean, *besides* the deadly disease ravaging the country and killing tens of thousands of people, all while the moronic fascist in charge is instead focused on undermining our democracy?
1. Work, due to the continuing nature of essential vs non-essential vs able to work from home. and a couple of our staff who are idiots. and our 'prevention of information technology dept' that makes it so I can't work at home, at all, really.
2. Mrs. father passed away on Sunday. It was time, and she didn't have a great relationship with him, but hit her a bit more that she expected.
3. The continuous attacks on this country and democracy by the @GOP/Trumpers.
4. Eldest being stuck at home in Oregon, and not being able to get out and see her friends much.
5. Youngest being stuck here at home and not being able to get out.
1. Work's getting frustrating because I have to do more but am still remote and annoyingly disconnected from my team. Started this new job remotely and it's been difficult to get a full picture of who's who and who it's ok to ask for info and who'd actually have the info I need to do my job well.
2. I'm staying with my parents in suburbia and I don't leave the house, so there's a nagging voice in the back of my head which says I'm never going to meet anyone and find romantic love because my life's on hold and I'll be trapped inside for at least another 6 months.
Work (customers 🙄), one daughter in the wake of a hurricane, the other daughter heading off to contagian central aka college, failing health of my parents, the accelerating political and economic decline of the US, etc etc
I'm more worried one of us will give it to her. Granted we're trying to minimize exposure ourselves. I just flew cross country but luckily the closest person was 2 rows up. 4 rows behind me was free and the window seats on the other side 1 row up and behind had someone. Took a shower as soon as I got home and am going to stay in a tent for a few days while I look for a place to take a test. Unfortunately just about all the places I've seen so far only are doing tests for people with symptoms.
we can just walk and get a test pretty easily. it took my 10 min. i was going to take younger one today but the hurricane blew over all the mobile tent testing centers.
I wish there it was easy to get one in the Bay Area. Looks like the urgent care place in Lafayette can do one after a video chat with a doctor. They suggested waiting a couple of days before doing it. So I guess I'm tenting it for a few nights.
It was brutal in Philly this last week. I had forgotten how much I hate humidity. It was better at night, especially in the burbs when No 1 and I met up with HeyStudentsBears at his in laws. But walking around during the day was nasty.
The leeward side of Isaias passed us, so it wasn't that bad. Just rain. Our utility lines are buried, so our power almost never goes out. But it's interesting to see the actual arms of the hurricane go overhead - furious rain - and then nothing. It's gorgeous now 75 degrees & clear blue skies.
My younger daughter is in North Carolina- went with a friend’s family to Bald Head island. Spent last night in a hotel on the mainland - and the house they rented is flooded out. They may just give in and drive back today. She was more worried about the fact that the hotel was packed with people who wouldn’t wear masks...
After much infighting the teens won out and they are driving home tonight. No power or running water at the rental house and limited mask wearing at area hotels was more than they were willing to put up with
A run is usually the first part of my day. I could hear the rain from Isaias on my windows so the first part of today was to roll over and sleep some more. The storm is moving really fast so it may actually clear up this afternoon.
Trump asks that the US get a cut of a hypothetical MSFT/Tik Tok deal. Never mind that it's not how it works or illegal, it shows that quid pro quo is his normal practice.
The whole interview is here. I tried to see how much of the 38-minute long clip I could listen to before pausing or quitting in rage. I did not last long.
The question for me is does he realize he’s lying? Because he’s saying things that are empirically untrue all day every day but “lying” to me implies that it’s deliberate
This has to be a first. The Pirates-Twins game was delayed after the umpires noticed a drone flying above the field, and pulled the teams off the field.
In a totally pointless effort, the Twins bullpen threw bats at the drone. We already know pitchers, especially American League ones, can't throw a bat at anything and hit it.
I've always wished I was the sort of person who exercised and lost their appetite when stressed. But, alas, instead I read too much and eat like a hobbit.
On a related note, for this season during commercials on MLB TV, I'm getting ads for something called "Hiscox"...which is apparently a business insurance company. The name being pronounced did at least make me look up when I heard it (I guess their company name and ad is potent?).
Fireworks warehouse at Beirut port goes
a) pop!
b) pow!
c) KAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!
d) all of the above, in that order
https://twitter.com/TommySledge/status/1290690801886994438
Damn that's a Mythbusters like shock wave.
Other angles:
https://twitter.com/hxhassan/status/1290691164270723075
https://twitter.com/guyelster/status/1290678031342804993
https://twitter.com/Phoofolo6/status/1290691192330518533
CNN reporting over 2000 people have been hospitalized and several have died...
I fear that “several” will become a much higher number when they start accounting for people who simply don’t exist any longer
:(
pretty huge.
and of course someone with no knowledge spouts off.
https://twitter.com/ChrisPalmerNBA/status/1290678170820042752
Tweet is now unavailable.
What tastes much better than it looks?
Calamari & sotong/cuttlefish. On the other hand, I am not a fan of octopus.
When eating fried calamari, I prefer the pieces with lots of tentacles because I feel like I'm eating aliens.
Same
We should split an order because I much prefer the rings.
Reminds me of a classic This American Life episode: https://www.thisamericanlife.org/484/doppelgangers
Is this the one that talks about what passes as calamari? I think it is.
Sounds like a splendid plan
o/
\o
Agreed. Also clams, removed from the shell. Lobster, before you remove the shell.
Fish with eyes looking back at you. Hard to eat but sometimes tasty.
Blood sausage, haggis, that manner of thing
I want to try haggis again. The cold breakfast buffet haggis I had while in Scotland was flat and pasty and I think it could be better
It would be better warm, that’s for sure
hagggggissssssss 🤤
Anything that still looks like the animal/fish it used to be.
Marbles
The term "knuckle down" is the starting position of the game, where a player squirts the marble off his index finger with the knuckle pointing down. Modern usage = get serious, but comes from the point of the marbles game when you were actually playing.
The term "play for keeps" comes from marbles. You declare the rules before starting a game, so if you declared "for keeps" or "keepsies", the winner won all the marbles. And hence why a winning shot is "for all the marbles".
I had a set of marbles as a kid and learned the rules, but no one I know was ever really into it.
I probably spent 2-3 hours of my life watching marble racing videos on YouTube earlier during the quarantine life.
Elgin
20 years ago I’d probably have said “tough luck Greece” but now I’m broadly for giving them back
I had this game on NES, it was kind of underrated I feel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvlbZwoWMgA
Such a fun game to play in the arcade.
I remember having this on a PC but found it really hard to control.
I never played with them as a kid, but I definitely kept them in a jar and admired how pretty they looked.
That was the name of our former cat. (RIP)
Twitter was weird today. Woke up early US east coast time and DIDN'T see a pro-Trump twitter trend with tends of thousands of mentions. Either the Russian bots took a day off or Twitter somehow miraculously cleaned up their act.
I think the bonkers Axios interview distracted them all.
Elsewhere in college
#WeAreUnited and Pac-12 communicating
https://www.si.com/college/cal/news/preliminary-communication
More complete Rolovich transcript
https://footballscoop.com/news/nick-rolovich-releases-statement-on-taped-phone-conversation-pac-12-unity-movement/
What’s stressing you out these days?
hard to find a place to go on vacation .. i know it is a "tough problem" to have.
we are trying to limit ourselves to NY so we dont have any issues w/ paying for a house rental but not being able to go.
but everyone else seems to have had this idea already and we are looking to go somewhere near a lake or something.
I was thinking of renting a beach house in Stinson Beach for a few days. Usually they charge around $900 per night. I checked yesterday and because of Covid the only rentals are for a month - so the price is around $27k per month. Well, I can't be that isolated for a month...
You mean, *besides* the deadly disease ravaging the country and killing tens of thousands of people, all while the moronic fascist in charge is instead focused on undermining our democracy?
https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html
Well. a few things.
1. Work, due to the continuing nature of essential vs non-essential vs able to work from home. and a couple of our staff who are idiots. and our 'prevention of information technology dept' that makes it so I can't work at home, at all, really.
2. Mrs. father passed away on Sunday. It was time, and she didn't have a great relationship with him, but hit her a bit more that she expected.
3. The continuous attacks on this country and democracy by the @GOP/Trumpers.
4. Eldest being stuck at home in Oregon, and not being able to get out and see her friends much.
5. Youngest being stuck here at home and not being able to get out.
1. Work's getting frustrating because I have to do more but am still remote and annoyingly disconnected from my team. Started this new job remotely and it's been difficult to get a full picture of who's who and who it's ok to ask for info and who'd actually have the info I need to do my job well.
2. I'm staying with my parents in suburbia and I don't leave the house, so there's a nagging voice in the back of my head which says I'm never going to meet anyone and find romantic love because my life's on hold and I'll be trapped inside for at least another 6 months.
Work (customers 🙄), one daughter in the wake of a hurricane, the other daughter heading off to contagian central aka college, failing health of my parents, the accelerating political and economic decline of the US, etc etc
A key team member agreed to a schedule yesterday and then announced today that he’s going on vacation next week 😖
Tired of Covid. Worried that my mom (a senior citizen) might catch it.
Is she breaking isolation protocols? It's been hard talking my parents into minimizing their exposure.
I'm more worried one of us will give it to her. Granted we're trying to minimize exposure ourselves. I just flew cross country but luckily the closest person was 2 rows up. 4 rows behind me was free and the window seats on the other side 1 row up and behind had someone. Took a shower as soon as I got home and am going to stay in a tent for a few days while I look for a place to take a test. Unfortunately just about all the places I've seen so far only are doing tests for people with symptoms.
i got a test after hanging out w/ you!
we can just walk and get a test pretty easily. it took my 10 min. i was going to take younger one today but the hurricane blew over all the mobile tent testing centers.
I wish there it was easy to get one in the Bay Area. Looks like the urgent care place in Lafayette can do one after a video chat with a doctor. They suggested waiting a couple of days before doing it. So I guess I'm tenting it for a few nights.
No, but her grandson (my nephew) is 20 and keeps stopping by her house. The risk is there...
Weather
It was brutal in Philly this last week. I had forgotten how much I hate humidity. It was better at night, especially in the burbs when No 1 and I met up with HeyStudentsBears at his in laws. But walking around during the day was nasty.
Meanwhile, in D$ville
https://twitter.com/dmoneyfor3/status/1290650724750299136
The worst of the storm stayed close to the coast and southern Maryland had a number of tornados. Blue skies in DC now.
Blue skies over my house, clouds next street over at the moment. Watching the edge of these systems go past is fascinating
The leeward side of Isaias passed us, so it wasn't that bad. Just rain. Our utility lines are buried, so our power almost never goes out. But it's interesting to see the actual arms of the hurricane go overhead - furious rain - and then nothing. It's gorgeous now 75 degrees & clear blue skies.
My younger daughter is in North Carolina- went with a friend’s family to Bald Head island. Spent last night in a hotel on the mainland - and the house they rented is flooded out. They may just give in and drive back today. She was more worried about the fact that the hotel was packed with people who wouldn’t wear masks...
The funny thing is Southport = Masks, Bald Head Island = No Masks due to demographic differences.
After much infighting the teens won out and they are driving home tonight. No power or running water at the rental house and limited mask wearing at area hotels was more than they were willing to put up with
Here's the scene at Oak Island, which is next island over from Bald Head.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AG_XoGpEQH8&feature=youtu.be
And here's the Southport marina. There's also boats sitting in the field.
https://twitter.com/wectnews/status/1290671150922702848
A bit of a mess but recoverable
Yeah that’s not the sort of thing we’d be attuned to
63 and foggy, again. Fake Mark Twain would have been proud of the weather in the city the past few weeks.
60's and low 70's here the past couple of weeks...
hot but nice so far, supposed to be cooler tomorrow and thurs. Dry as f*.
It's hot! I spend my days and nights in front of a fan in order to keep myself from melting.
A run is usually the first part of my day. I could hear the rain from Isaias on my windows so the first part of today was to roll over and sleep some more. The storm is moving really fast so it may actually clear up this afternoon.
Today in CV19
OUR CRUMBLING DEMOCRACY
Trump asks that the US get a cut of a hypothetical MSFT/Tik Tok deal. Never mind that it's not how it works or illegal, it shows that quid pro quo is his normal practice.
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/08/trump-plays-mob-boss-in-demanding-cut-of-microsoft-tiktok-deal
Someone whispered in his ear that Florida has more GOP absentee voters that DEM, so he says that absentee voting in Florida is encouraged.
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1290692768675901440
Trump predictably pulls the other way in an interview, wishes Ghislaine Maxwell well again.
https://twitter.com/axios/status/1290648181752107008
CNN: US sent 2 mn doses of hydroxychloroquine . They are sitting unused.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/04/americas/brazil-us-hydroxychloroquine-doses-intl/index.html
Stupid or liar?
https://twitter.com/axios/status/1290497186489348096
The whole interview is here. I tried to see how much of the 38-minute long clip I could listen to before pausing or quitting in rage. I did not last long.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaaTZkqsaxY
He's just too dumb.
The question for me is does he realize he’s lying? Because he’s saying things that are empirically untrue all day every day but “lying” to me implies that it’s deliberate
You can't lie about anything if you don't actually know the truth!
Both, but more stupid than liar.
www.instagram.com/p/CDSWEIGHgPe/
Trump: YO-SEM-ITE!
Link for the lazy:
https://twitter.com/alexnazaryan/status/1290664907772506112
To be fair, it's a word that's easier to pronounce without looking at it.
My dad sometimes said it like that but was doing it as a goof.
Yeah, I had a buddy in high school who did that too, because one of our teachers had a Yosemite poster up in the classroom.
You can't even properly satirize Trump.
CAL
Alex Morgan has her own Barbie...but for some reason, it doesn't have the rights to be wearing Team USA kit. https://twitter.com/alexmorgan13/status/1290691756317532162
Licensing sports teams TM rights is a hellish process.
Go Bears.
PRO
A's score eight runs in the fifth, wallop the M's 11-1
https://www.espn.com/mlb/recap?gameId=401225826
That was fun 🐘
KD even hit a home run. Maybe his swing is back.
Giants rally falls short, fall 7-6 to Rockies
https://www.espn.com/mlb/recap?gameId=401225821
Giants' Belt, Crawford, Sandoval, Pence, and Crawford are so far batting a combined 9 for 95 (0.095) with 26 strikeouts.
The aging Giants should go with a youth movement.
Dodgers fall 5-4 to the Padres
https://www.espn.com/mlb/recap?gameId=401225825
This has to be a first. The Pirates-Twins game was delayed after the umpires noticed a drone flying above the field, and pulled the teams off the field.
In a totally pointless effort, the Twins bullpen threw bats at the drone. We already know pitchers, especially American League ones, can't throw a bat at anything and hit it.
Columbus companies cut 850 jobs--my friends who worked at Victoria's Secret, Lane Bryant, and Abercrombie all lost their jobs :(
What's your stress relief?
I've always wished I was the sort of person who exercised and lost their appetite when stressed. But, alas, instead I read too much and eat like a hobbit.
hearing children outside:
"I just want to play cock with you!"
"cock?"
"cock!"
"Ok, let's play cock!"
"Emmy, where are you? I want to play cock!"
I...don't know what they're playing
On a related note, for this season during commercials on MLB TV, I'm getting ads for something called "Hiscox"...which is apparently a business insurance company. The name being pronounced did at least make me look up when I heard it (I guess their company name and ad is potent?).
I know a guy whose last name is Hiscock.
See, when a mommy and a daddy love each other very much...
Maybe this? Ages10+ although a pub game. https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/130202/cock-bull
Cock, duh
Happy White Wine Day!
Happy Chocolate Chip Cookie Day!